To confirm or solemnize. In the early 1830s, revelations often adopted biblical usage of the term seal; for example, “sealed up the testimony” referred to proselytizing and testifying of the gospel as a warning of the approaching end time. JS explained in...

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. Christ and many ancient prophets, including Abraham, were described as being high priests. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed...

The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...

unto the
holy order of God to administer the
everlasting Gospel for they are they who are ordained out of every Nation
kindred tongue and people by the angels to whom is given power over the
Nations of the earth to bring as many as will come to the church of
the first born.14

Philo
Dibble, who claimed he was present when JS
and Sidney Rigdon
experienced their 16 February 1832 vision of
the afterlife, implied to a congregation in Payson, Utah, in 1877 that in the
course of that vision, JS and Rigdon saw the “hundred and forty four thousand
[that] should stand on the earth in the last days as Saviors of men.” (Payson Ward, General Minutes, vol.
5, 7 Jan. 1877; see also
Vision, 16 Feb.
1832 [D&C 76].)

What are we to understand by the
sounding of the trumpets mentioned in the 8th. Chap. of Rev.15

Seven
angels stood
before God after the seventh seal had been opened and each subsequently blew a
trumpet. (Revelation 8:1–12; 9:1, 13; 10:7.)

A

We are to understand that
as God made the world in six days and on the
seventh day he finished his work and sanctified it and also formed man out
of the dust of the earth even so in the
begining of the seven thousandth year will the Lord God Sanctify the earth
and to complete the Salvation of man and Judge all things and shall
redeem all things except that which he hath not put into his power
when he shall have sealed all things unto the end of all things and the
sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and
finishing of his work in the begining of the seven thousandth year
the preparing of the way before the time of his coming16

Archbishop James Ussher of the
Church of Ireland composed an influential and widely referenced biblical
chronology in 1658 that dated the creation of Adam to 4004 BC, meaning that the
opening of the seventh thousand years would not occur until around AD
2000. Some of
JS’s followers, however, apparently believed that
the opening of the seventh thousand years would be much sooner.
William W. Phelps, for example, contended in
the August 1832 issue of The Evening and
the Morning Star that Adam was created 4,159 years before Christ, which
meant that there remained only “NINE years” until “the begining of the seven
thousandth year, or sabbath of creation.” (Ussher, Annals of the World,
1; “Present Age of the
World,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1832,
[5]–[6].)

Ussher, James. The Annals of the World. Deduced from
the Origin of Time, and Continued to the Beginning of the Emperour Vespasians
Reign . . . . London: Printed by E. Tyler, for J. Crook and G. Bedell,
1658.

When are the things to be accomplished which are written in
the ninth Chap. of Rev.17

This chapter of Revelation
covers the sounding of the trumpets of the fifth and sixth angels. It describes
John’s vision of the pestilences and wars that occurred at the sounding of
these trumpets.

A

They are to be accomplished after the opening of the seventh
seal before the coming of Christ

Q

What are we to understand by the little book
which was eaten by John as mentioned in the 10th. Chapt. of Rev.18

The “little book” was held by an
angel who came
down from heaven and placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the
earth. John was told to take the book and to eat it. “It shall make thy belly
bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.” (Revelation 10:1–2,
8–10.)

A religious rite. JS taught that ordinances were covenants between man and God, in which believers could affirm faith, gain spiritual knowledge, and seek blessings. Some ordinances were considered requisite for salvation. The manner in which ordinances were...

As directed by early revelations, church members “gathered” in communities. A revelation dated September 1830, for instance, instructed elders “to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect” who would “be gathered in unto one place, upon the face of this land...

An
1829
revelation stated that John the Revelator
did not die but was physically transformed so that he could remain on earth
until the second coming of Jesus Christ. At a
conference in June
1831, JS reportedly “prophecied that John the Revelator was then among
the ten tribes of Israel who had been lead away by Salmanaser King of israel,
to prepare them for their return, from their Long dispersion, to again possess
the land of their father’s.” (Account of John, Apr. 1829–C
[D&C 7]; Whitmer, History, 27.)

To confirm or solemnize. In the early 1830s, revelations often adopted biblical usage of the term seal; for example, “sealed up the testimony” referred to proselytizing and testifying of the gospel as a warning of the approaching end time. JS explained in...

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. Christ and many ancient prophets, including Abraham, were described as being high priests. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed...

The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...

unto the
holy order of God to administer the
everlasting Gospel for they are they who are ordained out of every Nation
kindred tongue and people by the angels to whom is given power over the
Nations of the earth to bring as many as will come to the church of
the first born.14

Philo
Dibble, who claimed he was present when JS
and Sidney Rigdon
experienced their 16 February 1832 vision of
the afterlife, implied to a congregation in Payson, Utah, in 1877 that in the
course of that vision, JS and Rigdon saw the “hundred and forty four thousand
[that] should stand on the earth in the last days as Saviors of men.” (Payson Ward, General Minutes, vol.
5, 7 Jan. 1877; see also
Vision, 16 Feb.
1832 [D&C 76].)

What are we to understand by the
sounding of the trumpets mentioned in the 8th. Chap. of Rev.15

Seven
angels stood
before God after the seventh seal had been opened and each subsequently blew a
trumpet. (Revelation 8:1–12; 9:1, 13; 10:7.)

A

We are to understand that
<as> God made the world in six days and on the
seventh day he finished his work and sanctified it and also formed man out
of the dust of the earth evens so in the
begining of the seven thousandth year will the Lord God Sanctify the earth
and to complete the Salvation of man and Judge all things and shall
redeem all things except that which he hath not put into his power
when he shall have sealed all things unto the end of all things and the
sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and
finishing of his work in the begining of the seven thousandth year
the preparing of the way before the time of his coming16

Archbishop James Ussher of the
Church of Ireland composed an influential and widely referenced biblical
chronology in 1658 that dated the creation of Adam to 4004 BC, meaning that the
opening of the seventh thousand years would not occur until around AD
2000. Some of
JS’s followers, however, apparently believed that
the opening of the seventh thousand years would be much sooner.
William W. Phelps, for example, contended in
the August 1832 issue of The Evening and
the Morning Star that Adam was created 4,159 years before Christ, which
meant that there remained only “NINE years” until “the begining of the seven
thousandth year, or sabbath of creation.” (Ussher, Annals of the World,
1; “Present Age of the
World,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Aug. 1832,
[5]–[6].)

Ussher, James. The Annals of the World. Deduced from
the Origin of Time, and Continued to the Beginning of the Emperour Vespasians
Reign . . . . London: Printed by E. Tyler, for J. Crook and G. Bedell,
1658.

When are the things to be accomplished which are written in
the ninth Chap. of Rev.17

This chapter of Revelation
covers the sounding of the trumpets of the fifth and sixth angels. It describes
John’s vision of the pestilences and wars that occurred at the sounding of
these trumpets.

A

They are to be accomplished after the opening of the seventh
seal before the coming of Christ

Q

What are we to understand by the little book
which was eaten by John as mentioned in the 10th. Chapt. of Rev.18

The “little book” was held by an
angel who came
down from heaven and placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the
earth. John was told to take the book and to eat it. “It shall make thy belly
bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.” (Revelation 10:1–2,
8–10.)

A religious rite. JS taught that ordinances were covenants between man and God, in which believers could affirm faith, gain spiritual knowledge, and seek blessings. Some ordinances were considered requisite for salvation. The manner in which ordinances were...

As directed by early revelations, church members “gathered” in communities. A revelation dated September 1830, for instance, instructed elders “to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect” who would “be gathered in unto one place, upon the face of this land...

An
1829
revelation stated that John the Revelator
did not die but was physically transformed so that he could remain on earth
until the second coming of Jesus Christ. At a
conference in June
1831, JS reportedly “prophecied that John the Revelator was then among
the ten tribes of Israel who had been lead away by Salmanaser King of israel,
to prepare them for their return, from their Long dispersion, to again possess
the land of their father’s.” (Account of John, Apr. 1829–C
[D&C 7]; Whitmer, History, 27.)

As
JS continued his
revision of the New Testament in
February and March
1832, he reached the book of Revelation with its abundance of symbolic
language. “About the first of march, in
connection with the
translation

To produce a new text through a revelatory, rather than scholarly, process, by the “gift and power of God.” In the Book of Mormon, the ancient prophet Mosiah translated records into his own language using “interpreters,” or “two stones which was fastened ...

The sacred, written word of God containing the “mind & will of the Lord” and “matters of divine revelation.” Members of the church considered the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and JS’s revelations to be scripture. Revelations in 1830 and 1831 directed JS to ...

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

,
Ohio, and was not working on the New Testament revisions between
29 February and 4 March 1832, this document was likely written
sometime between 4 March and
20 March, when another revelation told JS
and Sidney
Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

(who was serving as JS’s scribe) to “omit the translation for the
present time” so that they could travel to
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

By the night of
24–25 March 1832, when
the pair was attacked by a group of men in
Hiram

Area settled by immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England, ca. 1802. Located in northeastern Ohio about twenty-five miles southeast of Kirtland. Population in 1830 about 500. Population in 1840 about 1,100. JS lived in township at home of John and Alice...

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

probably served as the original scribe for the
explanation, but
Jesse
Gause

Ca. 1784–ca. Sept. 1836. Schoolteacher. Born at East Marlborough, Chester Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Gause (Goss) and Mary Beverly. Joined Society of Friends (Quakers), 1806. Moved to Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, 1808; to Chester Co., 1811; and to Wilmington...

Gause
apparently served as scribe for JS’s
Bible revision
between 8 March and
20 March, during
which time JS revised the first and second chapters of
the book of Revelation. (Faulring et al., Joseph Smith’s New
Translation of the Bible, 70;
Jennings, “Consequential
Counselor,” 183.)

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

in Revelation Book 1, where it is
identified only as “Revelation Explained.” Whitmer, who was residing in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

Area settled by immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England, ca. 1802. Located in northeastern Ohio about twenty-five miles southeast of Kirtland. Population in 1830 about 500. Population in 1840 about 1,100. JS lived in township at home of John and Alice...

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...